Exploring Changes in Poverty in Zimbabwe between 1995 and 2001 using Parametric and Nonparametric Quantile Regression Decomposition Techniques
This paper applies and extends Machado and Matas parametric quantile decomposition method and a similar nonparametric technique to explore changes in welfare in Zimbabwe between 1995 and 2001. These methods allow us to construct a counterfactual distribution in order to decompose the shift into the part due to changes in endowments and that due to changes in returns. We examine two subsets of a nationally representative dataset and find that endowments had a positive effect but that returns account for more of the difference. In communal farming areas, the effect of returns was positive while, in urban Harare, it was negative.
Advisor:Daniel Taylor; Christopher Parmeter; Jeffrey Alwang
School:Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
School Location:USA - Virginia
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Keywords:agricultural and applied economics
Date of Publication:11/27/2007